The old man swore a few words and his attitude was not very good, but Xu Fenglei didn't show any anger at all.
He knows that this is the truest side of the people at the bottom.
This is vulgarity that high-ranking officials detest, but only in these vulgar words can the truest voices of the people at the bottom be heard.
"Old man, please give me some face."
Xu Fenglei squatted aside, shook the gourd in his hand, smiled and cursed,
"You even drank my water! Don't dare to be a freeloader!"
When the old farmer heard this, he immediately rolled his eyes.
"Just drinking two mouthfuls of water from you is called freeloading? You should at least give me a bowl of noodles!"
He shouted,
"Okay, okay, you ask me if I am happy? I am not happy! I am very sad!"
Xu Fenglei became energetic and took out a small notebook from his arms.
"Say, you say." He held the pen and said seriously.
"Look, I work in the fields every day without taking a break for a year. As a result, in winter, I still don't have enough to eat!"
The old man opened his chatterbox and poured out his bitterness.
"Also, every year during the farming season, we have to fight to grab some water! For small people, individuals fight against each other, while for big people, villages fight against each other. Laozi, this year we haven't snatched... the water source. It’s so precious!”
"Nowadays, the tax is high, and the tax must be collected on a per capita basis. Even the newborn babies in the family have to pay taxes! The price of rice is not cheap, young man, tell me, tell me, we face the loess and our back to the sky, every day Tudi is a bastard! How can we be happy? As long as we are farmers, there is no such thing as happiness. Farmers are the most miserable!"
"The family members are not quiet either, alas!"
As he spoke, he sighed heavily at the end, picked up Xu Fenglei's gourd, and took another sip of water. The depression in his heart had just dissipated a little.
Swish, swish, swish.
Xu Fenglei quickly recorded and recorded all the core issues in the old man's words.
Water sources - the problem of water grabbing in rural areas and the problem of canal construction.
Taxes - taxes are collected on a per capita basis and ordinary people are overwhelmed.
The price of rice is high...
…
"Young man, it's useless for you to write this down."
The old man glanced at Xu Fenglei's crooked handwriting and chuckled,
"Your word is like a dog plowing, you might as well be pinched by the gentleman in our village."
"You must study hard! Don't be like a farmer and suffer hardship all your life."
He couldn't say anything to encourage others to learn, so he could only use himself as a negative example.
"Old man, although my word is ugly, it is of great value."
Xu Fenglei closed the notebook and said with a smile,
"Your old demands may have to be solved by these words I recorded!"
The old man curled his lips.
"You little baby, it's so beautiful to think about..."
He waved his hand and said,
"Actually, as long as there is no war, it will be fine. It will be a little harder and more tiring, but at least I can survive... Go forward twenty years, and it will really be a miserable life!"
Xu Fenglei nodded.
In war, the people at the bottom are always the most injured.
A thought from the top will lead to follow-up actions from the bottom; a single mistake by the general will lead to the death of all the soldiers.
It was not just a young man who was killed, but thousands of families...
Just as he was about to speak, a horse galloped towards him in the distance.
"gentlemen."
A woman in red got off her horse and whispered something into Xu Fenglei's ear.
"Oh? Is this the case?"
Xu Fenglei looked surprised, then smiled and said,
"Then I have to join in the fun. I'm in Dongshi, right? Okay, you can go back!"
"Yes." The woman in red bowed her hands, got on her horse again, and galloped away.
"Hey, this little girl is so handsome!"
The old man winked and praised,
"She's more juicy than the most juicy girl in our village! Boy, is this your aunt?"
"What a blessing!"
Xu Fenglei shook his head and laughed.
"I don't have a wife, she's just a maid in my house."
he said.
The old man was stunned.
"Is this pretty girl just a maid?"
He was surprised,
"Then you must be a big boy!"
Xu Fenglei grinned.
"Young Master is no longer worthy of the title, and I am no longer a eldest son."
He stood up, patted the dust on his body, took out a piece of silver from his arms, pressed it under the gourd, cupped his hands and said,
"Thank you! For chatting and spanking with me, I'll give you this gourd!"
"Farewell!"
“I’ll treat you to noodles next time!”
After saying that, Xu Fenglei turned around and jumped on the horse, raising his whip.
"We've been chatting all day. Why don't you thank me? The young master is just being polite and wants to eat some noodles..."
The old man also grinned, but with several teeth missing, his smile easily leaked.
He took a short rest and picked up the gourd again. Just as he was about to take a drink of water, he found a shiny silver thing at the bottom of the gourd.
"this……"
"Be good..."
The old man's eyes widened and his mouth widened.
…
Chang'an City, Dongshi.
A red horse held its head high, looking left and right, looking very graceful.
People were coming and going, and many people were attracted by it. But after stopping to ask about the price, almost all had the same reaction:
"One thousand taels of gold? Why don't you go and grab it!"
"Don't talk about a thousand taels of gold, I don't even want a thousand taels of silver! What do you think this is?"
"Damn it, is your horsehide made of gold or your horseflesh? The price is sky-high!"
The angry shouts from the passers-by on the opposite side made Inugang Mikazuchi, who was already concerned about his face, unable to sit still!
"This is a bloody BMW from the Western Regions! If you think it's expensive, I think it's too expensive! Don't touch it if you don't want to buy it!"
He said angrily,
"You've touched all this hair, so how can I sell it to you?"
The pedestrian heard the words, but did not listen to him. He took two more handfuls, then snorted contemptuously, turned around and left.
This guy was so angry even after three days of dog training! If this wasn't Chang'an and there were Jinwu guards patrolling, he would have wanted to roll up his sleeves and beat that kid!
Xu Fenglei couldn't help but feel happy when he saw this scene not far away.
This little devil has made the mission so poor that he has to rely on selling horses to maintain expenses?
"drive."
He casually picked up a bunch of candied haws, threw down a broken piece of silver, then rode forward and stopped in front of Quan Shang Sanri Shu.
"Hey, isn't this Inugami-kun?"
Xu Fenglei took a bite of candied haws and said with a smile,
"As an envoy from Japan, how did you start doing business?"
"This is not very respectable."
"Where is your Princess Qianzhe? We met by chance. Let's ask her to come out and have a chat. We are old acquaintances."
He looked back and saw a carriage parked behind him, probably belonging to Chizuru Hiromiya.
Quan Shang San Ri Shu's face twitched, and he felt unhappy, but he did not dare to offend Xu Fenglei, so he had to hold his hands and said:
"I've met Mr. Xu."
"Selling the horse was not what we wanted. We were going back to Japan and it was inconvenient to take the horse with us, so we had to sell it on the spot."
"As for Her Royal Highness, she is taking a nap in the carriage and it is inconvenient to meet her."
Xu Fenglei said oh.
"This is strange. Yesterday, he came to my door in the middle of the night and refused to leave. He insisted on seeing me no matter what. Now he is pretending to be reserved again."
He chuckled and said,
"The little girl's film has two faces!"
"Interesting, really interesting! Hahahaha..."
Wow!
There was a surge in the rear compartment.
A figure stepped down from the carriage, and his eyes glared at Xu Fenglei angrily.
"Ah, it's Princess Qianzuru!"
Xu Fenglei cupped his hands and smiled,
"I made a mistake, I made a mistake, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
"Don't take it personally."
Haogong Qianhe bit her silver teeth, wanting to step forward and bite this hateful man to death, but in the end, she endured it.
"Last night I was... drunk and acting crazy."
She reluctantly raised her hand and explained,
"I'm disturbing Mr. Xu."
Xu Fenglei waved his hand.
"No need to explain to me, I don't care."
He said casually,
"None of your actions have anything to do with me."
"However, I heard that you are going to give me a BMW, is it this one?"
Bang bang!
He patted the sweaty horse twice with his hand, and looked at Haomiya Qianhe with a half-smile.
Haomiya Qianhe: "..."
She didn't know how to answer this question for a while.
"Hey, okay, okay, I know you are in trouble, even if you want to give it to me, I can't afford such an expensive gift."
Xu Fenglei clasped his hands behind his back and sighed, saying,
"I still like this bloody horse, please make a price!"
"If it's suitable, I will pay for it, which can be considered as a solution to your urgent need. After all, we are also a dignified mission. We can't even have enough travel expenses home, right?"
Quan Shang Sanri's expression changed, showing a bit of suspicion.
Haomiya Qianhe also looked suspicious.
When did Xu Fenglei become so kind and come to show mercy to them?
"I'm not selling the horse to make a profit, I just want to sell it at the original price."
The dog has been on the road for three days and Shu cupped his hands and said,
"When I bought it, I spent one thousand taels of gold, so now, I still sell it for one thousand taels and make no profit at all."
"What do you think, Mr. Xu?"
When Xu Fenglei heard this, he couldn't help laughing loudly.
"Ha, hahahaha..."
"What does Mr. Xu mean?" Quan Shang Sanri's face darkened.
This laughter was no different from that of the passers-by who just passed by to inquire about the price, with a hint of ridicule.
"Inugami, Inugami, did Inugami have your head on you?"
Xu Fenglei suppressed his smile and said unceremoniously,
"This bloody horse is not worth the price!"
"You are selling it for the price of one thousand taels, but you can't sell it for three years. Believe it or not?!"
"But I only bought it for a thousand taels..." Quan Shang Sanri was anxious and was about to defend, but was interrupted by Xu Fenglei.
"That's because you are willing to be taken advantage of, who should you blame?!"
Xu Fenglei hummed softly,
"You have been taken advantage of, and you still want to find another taker to take over the deal at full price? How can there be such a good thing in the world?"
"I have good intentions and want to help you tide over the difficulties, but you actually treat me like a big injustice and kill me? Do you think I look like a fool?"
Quan Shang Sanri's face was stiff.
Haogong Qianhe felt even worse... She was the main messenger of all this.
She is the biggest victim in Xu Fenglei's mouth!
"Then please ask Mr. Xu... to offer a suitable price."
Haogong Qianhe took a deep breath, cupped his hands and said,
"You name the number, and if it's suitable, we'll sell it to you."
She had suffered too many setbacks in the Tang Dynasty, and she no longer wanted to be entangled. She just wanted to take those few carts of books and return to Japan as soon as possible.
Xu Fenglei touched the sweaty horse's head and chuckled:
"We are really destined... Well, it just so happens that I am also in need of a good horse."
"Let me tell you the number - four hundred taels of gold! How about it? I can pay you in cash right away!"
Quan Shang San Ri Shu's eyes widened.
Haogong Qianhe's pretty face darkened.
"Mr. Xu, are you trying to make fun of us?"
She glared at Xu Fenglei and said sternly,
"No matter how worthless this horse is, it is still worth five or six hundred taels of gold! In previous years, the lowest transaction price of a bloody horse was never lower than five hundred taels!"
"You offer four hundred taels! Isn't that a little outrageous?"
Facing Haogong Qianhe's small universe that was about to explode, Xu Fenglei just nodded thoughtfully.
"Oh - that's right."
He touched his chin and said,
"Then add one hundred taels, five hundred taels!"
"Although this sweat horse is good, it is difficult to find a buyer. After all, people who can pay five hundred taels of gold in one breath are very rare even in Chang'an."
"You're lucky, I'm one of you."
"How about selling it?"
Hard.
Chizuru Hiromiya’s fist is hard!
I have seen bullies, but I have never seen anyone bully like this!
I borrowed 1,000 taels from your bank to buy a horse, and took on a debt of 1,400 taels of gold. Now I want to sell this horse to you for 500 taels of gold!
Over and over again, nothing was gained, and nine hundred taels of gold were lost in vain!
You will not pay for your life if you trick someone to death!
She no longer wanted to say another word to Xu Fenglei, turned around and was about to leave, but heard the other party say another word slowly.
"Or maybe I have a plan."
Xu Fenglei said with a smile,
"Princess Qianhe gave me this horse, and I will also give you a treasure of equal value, plus fifty taels of gold for your travel expenses."
"You know, we in the Tang Dynasty pay attention to courtesy and reciprocity. If we give each other gifts a few times, we have established a friendship and are considered friends."
"How about it, Princess Qianhe, would you like to be my friend, Mr. Xu?"
Haomiya Qianhe: "..."
As your friend?
Tricked to death by you?
Although he was cursing secretly in his heart, his face was still tense at least.
"What is the treasure of equal value?"
Haogong Qianhe asked coldly,
"Can you still give me a bronze cong used by Qin Shihuang?"
Looking at Xu Fenglei's face now, she began to suspect that the bronze cong was a fake!
"How can that be done!"
Xu Fenglei pretended to be serious and said,
"That bronze cong is a unique and valuable treasure. If you hadn't given me the "Sang Luan Tie", and I don't have any other treasures at hand, I would never have given it up!"
"I, Mr. Xu, am a very particular person!"
Haogong Qianhe was slightly stunned. Seeing how serious he was, her heart felt a little calmer.
Perhaps, the bronze cong should be real.
At that time, Xu Fenglei was not so cheating.
"Chizuru made a mistake."
Haogong Qianhe bowed slightly and said,
"Then I dare to ask Mr. Xu, what kind of gift should I give you?"
"It's not that Qianhe is sophisticated, but that he really can't afford the compensation."
Xu Fenglei grinned.
"Understood, understood."
He said,
"Please come with me to my house and take a look. After taking a look, you will know whether it is worth changing."
After that, he turned around and got on his horse.
Inugami Sanri and Haogong Qianhe looked at each other.
"Princess Qianhe, this person is definitely not a good person."
Quan Shang San Ri Shu shook his head and said,
"I think we still..."
Haomiya Qianhe smiled bitterly.
"Do you think Japan still needs to deal with Datang?"
she asked.
Quan Shang Sanri was startled for a moment and blurted out: "That's natural! Although we have bought so many books, we have yet to appreciate the essence of the Tang Dynasty."
"When I return, I will report to Your Majesty that we should send more Tang envoys to learn from the Tang Dynasty!"
Haogong Qianhe nodded and pointed at Xu Fenglei's back.
"If you want to do this, this person is a hurdle that you can't get around."
She sighed, "...let's go, follow."
